Rainwater Harvesting- The Barefoot College Experience

8/3/2019 Rainwater Harvesting- The Barefoot College Experience

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RAI NWATER HARVESTI NGThe Barefoot College Experience


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RAI N WATER HARVESTI NG

Why ? 3

When ? 10

How & Where ? 13

INTHEDESERTS 16

INTHEMOUNTAI NS 30

Has i t been done ? 36

Lessons Learnt ! 41


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Wait ing for t he Monsoon .


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RAINWATER HARVESTING

WHY ?


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Because water should never be wasted and allowed to flow out of any village or community

facing a drinking water shortage.

Rain Water Harvest ing ~ Why ?


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Because it costs less to collect rainwater than to exploit groundwater.


Drilling Rig for installing a hand pump.


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Because collecting rainwater is the only way of recharging water sources and revitalising dry

open wells and dry hand pumps.



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Because it gives an opport uni t y for communit ies to come together and work closer. I t allows for

the decentralised control and community management of water.


Traditional open wells are communicat ion channels in the village. With handpumps these gossip sessions are lost.


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Because traditional knowledge, skills and materials can be used to collect the water and no

government technical assistance is required for repair and maintenance.

Barefoot Architects preparing to construct a rain water harvesting tank.



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Because it will provide productive employment to the rural poor in their own villages.

Barefoot Architects digging an underground tank in a primary school in Bhogadeet, a rocky area. Note traditional waterproofing

techniques using lime, jaggery, gravel and methi dana or fenugreek seed.



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WHEN ?


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Rain water harvesting measures are essential when the ground water is brackish or has a high

Iron or Flouride content.

Rain Water Harvest ing ~ When ?


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Rain water harvesting measures should begin four months before the monsoon is to arrive.

A view of the Barefoot College from atop a nearby rock outcrop.These two photographs show what the land looks like before and after the monsoon.

Rain Water Harvest ing ~ When ?


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WHERE & HOW ?


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How do underground tanks fi ll up ?

1. Rain water collects on rooft ops.

2. This water i s guided int o overflow pipes.

3. These pipes connect to an underground tank.

3. Once the tank is full , t he water can be accessed through simple means li ke a bucket or by

installing a handpump.

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Rain Water Harvest ing ~ Where & How ?

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I NTHEDESERT

Rain Water Harvest ing ~ Where & how ?


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Rainwater can be collected from the roofs of remote rural primary schools in underground tanks

constructed by barefoot architects at a nominal cost with no repair or maintenance required.

Rain Water Harvest ing ~ Where & how ? I N THE DESERT

Name of village MALION KI DHANINumber of chi ldren in school 87

Topography Rocky areaVolume of the tank in feet 20 x 8 x 8

Capaci ty 32,000 Li t resCommunity Contribut ion $ 50

Labour $ 180Mat eri al $ 460

Tot al Cost $ 640

Number who contributed labour 7Number of days contributed 6

Handpump for accessing water.

Pipes from the roof top

leading to the underground tank.

Overflow Pipes

allowing precious

water to go waste.

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All t ank water is t reated wit h Chlorine. Since the water is used constant ly t here is li t tl e fear of contamination or fungus. All t anks are fit tedwith handpumps. This helps to save water from being wasted.

Labour CostsI n areas where the soil is rocky the cost works out t o $ 0.03 / li t reI n areas where the soil is hard the cost works out t o $ 0.025/ li t reIn areas of sandy soil the cost falls even lower

Before: rain water would drain away from roof t opsand be wasted.

A tank being dug by barefoot archit ects with pipes connectedto the rooftop.

The school with an undergroundwater tank. Access by handpump.

When the harvested water is finished, tanks are refi ll ed by mobil e tankers @ $ 0.20/ li t re.


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Rainwater MUST be collected in areas where the groundwater is brackish (salty) or where the

water is not potable because of too much iron or flouride.

Name of vill age DUKHION KI DHANI , Distri ct AjmerNumber of children in school 79Topography Sandy area

The nearest sweet water source Tyond 1 kmVolume of the tank in feet 20 x 8 x 8

Capacity 35,000 Lit resCommunity Contribution $ 40

Labour $ 190Mater ial $ 400

Total Cost $ 630 ($.02/li tre)

Number who contributed labour 10Number of days contributed 3

Before: rain water would drain away fromroof tops and be lost into the soil.

A tank being dug by barefoot architects with pipesconnected to the rooftop.

Tanks have ventilation built into the designto allow fresh air to circulate therebypreventing the water fom smelling due topossible stagnation.


20R i W H i Wh h ? I N THE DESERT


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Rainwater can be collected in artificial tanks within villages. The water collected provides for

cattle. It serves to recharge the groundwater and revitalise open wells and dry hand pumps.

Nadisare open ponds that act as catchment areas for recharging ground water as well as providing water for cattle and irrigation.These natural formati ons are deepened and t heir capacit ies increased to coll ect more rain water.


21R i W t H t i Wh & h ? I N THE DESERT


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Natural open ponds can be deepened to collect more rainwater. This water usually lasts for

4 - 6 months after the monsoon.

Name MURDI NADI

Populati on 3000Location Vil lage BEETI , Dist rict Ajmer

Soil Dug Out 47,848 cu. ftCapacit y increased by 1,311,000 Lit res

Communit y Contri bution $ 72Number of people Employed 88 (83 Women, 5 Men) for 33 days

Number of Vil lages served 3Number of Catt le served 6000

Number of open wells recharged 7

Number of months water wi ll last after monsoon 5

Before being deepened. The digging in progress. After the Monsoon.




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Rain water collected in a Nadi. The water from the open well serves two purposes. 1. For drinking / 2. For recharge


Open well.40 feet deep / 20 feet wide.



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Name PATPARI A NADI

Population 5,000Locati on Vil lage GODI ANA, Dist rict Ajmer

Soil Dug Out 26,810 cu. ftCapacit y increased by 7,34,500 Lit res

Communit y Contribution $ 39Labour Employed 55 (40 Women, 15 Men) for 29 days

Number of Vil lages served 4Number of Catt le served 10,000

Number of open wells recharged 5

Number of months water wil l last after monsoon 4

Before being deepened. Barefoot Architects deepening a Nadi. After the Monsoon.


24Rain Water Har est ing Where & ho ? I N THE DESERT


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Rainwater can be diverted and collected in large open wells. Millions of litres of water can

percolate into the ground, rather than evaporating and going waste.


25Rain Water Harvest ing Where & how ? I N THE DESERT


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1. Channels and gull ies are created to direct excess rain water int o open well s.

2. The water collects in t he well .

3. This water t hen percolates int o the ground.

4. Within a week 3,00,000 li t res of water percolates 100 ft below ground level t o recharge the

ground water table.

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26Rain Water Harvest ing Where & how ? I N THE DESERT


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Women barefoot archit ects digging an open well for ground water recharge.


27Rain Water Harvest ing ~ Where & how ? I N THE DESERT


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The water from this well will serve to recharge the dry handpumps in the village.


Water from the roof t op of this primaryschool is directed into this newlyconstructed open well.



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An open well. Water is saved from evaporat ion, cont aminat ion and arbit rary use by keeping it covered with thorny twigs and branches.




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A Bauri, or traditional step-well over a 100 years old in Rajasthan.


30Rain Water Harvest ing ~ Where & how ?


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30Rain Water Harvest ing Where & how ?

I NTHEMOUNTAI NS: Sikkim

I NTHEMOUNTAI NS: Sikkim

31Rain Water Harvest ing ~ Where & how ? I N THE MOUNTAI NS


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Rainwater can be collected on the hilltops in mountainous regions. This will prevent it from

flowing into the valley below.

Rain Water Harvest ing Where & how ? I N THE MOUNTAI NS

The current technical solution is to pump water back up from the valley to the hilltops. This is then distributed through pipelines to

remote villages. This is wasteful and unreliable.



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A water t ank built over a 100 years ago in Sikkim to allow water to percolate into the ground to revitalise springs




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Outline indicates sit e ident ifiedfor the Rain Water Harvesting Tank.

Rain Water Harvesting Tank being const ructed as part of the Barefoot College Training Campus, Sikkim.

Underground tanks can be built to store rain water by carving into the hillside.




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Rain Water Harvesting Tank in Sikkim Campus: Cost Breakdown

I tem Quantity Cost in Dollars

Cement 330 bags 1150Sand 17 lorries 350

Iron Rods 2659 kgs 1003Bamboo 41 pieces 12

Wood beam 129 cu.ft 176Small stones 1,930 cu.ft 195

Plast ic 6 kgs 6Nails 5 kgs 3

Wire for Binding 10 kgs 6

Water Transport 130Wood Transport 10

Cement Transport 6Loading / Unloading 20Sales Tax 105

Total Material cost 3172Total labour Cost 2175

Total 5347Total Capacity 160,000 litres

Cost per lit re $ 0.034




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Out line indicating t he rain water storage tank

beneath the training centre. Note traditional

building materials being used in conjunction

with modern.

The Training Centre is built on the rain water harvesting tank. Capacity : 160,000 litres


Outline indicating the

Space occupied by the

rural electronic

workshop.

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HAS THIS BEEN DONE ?

37Has thi s been done ?


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From 1988 to 2001 barefoot archi tects const ructed rainwater harvest ing st ructures in over 200

rural pri mary schools collect ing 19 mi ll ion l i t res annually. Cost : US$ 0.50 cents/ li t re.



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Millions of litres have percolated into the ground by directing surface water into open wells

recharging them and revitalising dry hand pumps.



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In the drought prone areas of Sikkim in the Himalayas 160,000 litres rainwater harvesting

structure has made the Training Centre for barefoot solar engineers self sufficient in water.



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All the rainwater harvesting structures have been constructed by barefoot architects using

traditional knowledge, skills and raw materials.

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LESSONS LEARNT

42Lessons Learnt


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Rain water can be collected where it falls. In schools and within the village, to revitalize open

wells and handpumps at a marginal cost.

The community has the competence and technical capability to construct their own water

harvesting tanks without any expertise from outside.

This is the only long term solution to drought proofing villages against water scarcity.

The community has management and control over the water not the government.

The const ructi on of rain water harvest ing st ructures is understood by all communi t ies and can

be replicated everywhere in the world where there is an acute drinking water shortage.

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Rainwater Harvesting- The Barefoot College Experience